Sea surface temperatures and sea level are rising and likely to rise further. The resulting shifts in the geographical and seasonal distribution of marine and coastal species will require adaptations in the management of fisheries and natural habitats to ensure environmental sustainability. Increasing temperatures and the acidification of the world’s oceans due to higher CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere also affect coral reefs in Europe´s overseas territories, which are important centres of biodiversity.

Average global air and ocean temperatures are rising, leading to the melting of snow and ice
and rising global mean sea level. Ocean acidification results from higher CO2 concentrations.
With unabated greenhouse gas emissions, climate change could lead to an increasing risk of
irreversible shifts in the climate system with potentially serious consequences. Temperature
rises of more than 1.5–2 °C above pre-industrial levels are likely to cause major societal and
environmental disruptions in many regions. The atmospheric CO2 concentration needs to be
stabilised at 350–400 parts per million (ppm) in order to have a 50 % chance of limiting global
mean temperature increase to 2 °C above pre-industrial levels (according to the IPCC in 2007,
and confirmed by later scientific insights).